Daylilies and Oriental Lilies in July
How spectacular are the performances of daylilies and oriental lilies in July? As far as those growing in my own garden are concerned, the answer is “Not bad. Not bad at all.”
By John G. Stamos
I’m writing this short little article on July 30th, here in hardiness zone 5B/6A, and I’m feeling a tad wistful. All of my daylilies (with the exception of my tough little Stella d’oro – bless its heart) and oriental lilies have finished blooming. While my asiatics were really the stars of of my lily planting feature (aka, my lily patch) through most of the month of June, July has literally been “The Month of the Daylily and Oriental Lily.” While some of my daylilies actually did start showing off a few blooms in the later part of June (that awesome little Stella d’oro has bloomed nonstop since early June – again, bless its little heart), July has really been their month. And while the daylilies bloomed for almost the entire month of July, the orientals exploded on June 17th and have filled the garden with the sights and scents of Eden right up until this morning, when the last petal fell off the last After Eight.
Yep. Definitely wistful.
Today’s article is going to be mercifully short. After my last article about my blue and white hill planting feature, I owe you a break. I thought a bunch of pictures of cool looking daylilies and oriental lilies might bring a smile to your face.
Although this article is essentially a photographic journal of what happened in my lily patch this July, I do want to make you aware of three caveats: 1) I took some pictures on June 30th of a few of the daylilies. They were great shots and I felt that June 30th was close enough to July 1st on the calender to allow me some wiggle room. And the daylilies in the June 30th photos definitely did continue to bloom through much of July. A technicality, I know. But one I wanted to point out. 2) I’m going to briefly mention a point or two about the one trumpet lily in the lily patch, my Easter Lily. 3) I’m writing briefly about my two types of oriental lilies – Stargazers and After Eights. They’re remarkably similar in appearance and habit, so I thought a really short attempt at differentiation was in order.
For a more detailed examination of the differences between and among daylilies, oriental lilies, asiatic lilies, and trumpet lilies, please feel free to refer to my article of June 30th of this year, Lilies: The Renaissance Garden Guy Way. In it, you’ll find a more in-depth review of each of these plants, as well as a lot of info about my lily patch planting feature itself.
But for today, you can breathe a sigh of relief. It’s just gonna be pictures of some pretty daylilies and oriental lilies, and a short bit about my Easter Lily and about how Stargazer and After Eight oriental lilies may or may not be different. In short, I am doing a little bit of writing, but this article really is mostly pictures.
Daylilies and Oriental Lilies in July (And Trumpet Lilies, Too!)
My Daylilies in July (and on June 30th) – Hardiness Zones 4-11*
My Easter Lily in July (Hardiness Zones 4-9)
If you’ll recall from last month’s lily and daylily post, Easter lilies are trumpet lilies (Lilium longiflorum) and they are “coaxed” into flowering at Easter time by growers. The methodology of this process involves unnatural freezing/warming times. Essentially, the plants are confused. My Easter Lily’s whole flowering and dormancy cycle was disrupted in order to get it to flower at Easter time. I planted my Easter Lily (which I received as a gift at Easter time this year, in early April) after it finished flowering in late April. It would normally flower somewhere between mid July and early August, and based on this bloom time, it would normally go dormant somewhere from late September to mid October (about 2 -1/2 months). Since mine lost its flowers at the end of April, based on this 2-1/2 month lag, I believed I could expect it to go dormant somewhere around mid July. And that’s exactly what it did. It yellowed, then browned, and I pruned it down to the ground. It’s asleep until next spring. I know this article is supposed to be only about daylilies and oriental lilies, but I thought I’d fill you in on this plant’s status since its circumstances are a bit unusual.
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My Oriental Lilies in July (Hardiness Zones 3-9)
What’s the Difference Between a Stargazer Lily and an After Eight Lily? The Stargazer Oriental Lily (Lilium orientalis ‘Stargazer’) is one of the most well-known of all lilies and, from nurseries to florists, it’s certainly one of the bestsellers of the floral trade. The Stargazer is capable of reaching a height of 6 feet, but typically remains about 4 feet in height. It’s got extremely fragrant , 6″ wide flowers with rich pink petals and sepals, speckled in deep red and outlined in white at the edges. The After Eight Oriental Lily (Lilium orientalis ‘After Eight’) has flowers which are identical in size, color, and fragrance to those of the Stargazer. Its foliage is identical to that of the Stargazer, and, on average, it produces the same number of blooms. However, the After Eight, at least in theory, is supposed to remain smaller than the Stargazer. It has, in fact, been referred to as a “mini Stargazer.” And here’s where the waters get muddy.
- My Stargazers are currently shorter than the tallest of my After Eights, and less robust. This could be a result of the fact that my Stargazers were planted as bulbs last year. Only two sprouted and flowered last year, and they did so late in the season. The remaining four sprouted for the first time this spring, and did not flower. The After Eights were planted as established plants (in the spring of last year) which had substantially flowered. It may be that the After Eights are just more mature, at this stage, than the Stargazers and are therefore bigger at this point.
- According to my research, maximum heights projected for After Eights by various resources have varied from 18″ to over 3 feet. According to my research, Lily Looks (a grower/developer in Holland) has developed the After Eight as part of its Sunny(TM) series of oriental lilies. According to Lily Looks, the After Eights are only supposed to grow to 18″-24″ in height. Other expert resources have described a height of 3′ or more for the After Eights.
- My results, in the second year for both plants are as follows: 1) The tallest of my Stargazers grew to approximately 30″ in height to the tips of their uppermost blooms. Their stems were comparatively slender (although thicker on the two that sprouted last summer) and struggled to hold their large blooms erect. 2) The largest of my After Eights literally grew to 36″ in height to the tips of their uppermost blooms. These plants were robust, with thick stems which had no difficulty bearing up to eight flowers each.
- 3) The blooms on the Stargazers and After Eights were virtually identical in size, appearance, and fragrance. Both plants bloomed at the same time. The After Eights, however, produced many more blooms per plant. My three largest After Eights each produced eight flowers. My biggest Stargazers each produced only two. Both plants are supposed to produce, on average, the same amount of blooms. 4) I am attributing this perplexing discrepancy in stature between the two plants (the Stargazers supposed to be the bigger of the two) to the fact that the Stargazers are immature plants, while the After Eights are actually more mature and probably have reached their full size. Further solidifying this position is the difference in the maximum number of blooms between each respective plant. I’m thinking that when the Stargazers are more mature (and consequently more robust), they’ll produce more flowers. 5) I can’t reconcile the maximum heights of 18″ to 24″ projected for the After Eights by some resources with the actuality I’ve experienced with my 3′ tall plants. As I’ve stated above, my research has uncovered a wide range of projected maximum After Eight Lily heights. If anyone has any ideas or opinions, please feel free to share them. Leave a comment.
As far as a rundown of my daylilies and oriental lilies in July goes, that wasn’t so bad, was it? I thought a pictorial of the action in my lily patch during this past hot and sunny month might be interesting. The flowers were pretty and they smelled heavenly. While spending time in my garden throughout the month of July, I sure have enjoyed the sensory treat, and although you couldn’t be here in person to enjoy those sights and smells with me, I hope you at least liked the pictures. My Easter Lily is sleeping, safe and sound, until next spring. And those Stargazers and After Eights… kind of a headscratcher, huh? In any event, I do love them all – daylilies, oriental lilies, and trumpet lilies alike – and I really enjoy telling you about all of them. As always, I thank you for tuning in and I’m sincerely grateful for your support. And from me, comme d’habitude, its “Cheers, and Happy Gardening!”
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I think the stargazer Lilly is my absolute favorite flower. Too bad you are not able to send us a picture with fragrance ! As always thanks for sharing the great information.
I love all your beautiful lilies! When you cut them back do you take everything back on all of them? Or just certain one’s?
Thank you, Sharon. I cut them down totally to the ground when the foliage becomes yellow/brown in fall – lilies and daylilies both. You know that they’ve gone dormant at that time.
Enjoyed reading about your lilies. They are so beautiful. Always puts a smile on my face to see your beautiful work. Thank you for all the pictures.
Thank you so much, Sharon. I’m so glad you like the lilies and are enjoying my efforts. The whole reason I began writing about my garden and sharing photos of its progress has always been to make people happy. Reading your wonderful comment leads me to believe that perhaps I’m succeeding. Thanks again!
What lovely lilies!